U.S. WNT vs. England
0-1 L

2017 SheBelieves Cup

HARRISON, N.J. (March 4, 2017) – The U.S. Women’s National Team continued play at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup dropping its second match, 1-0, against England in front of an electric sold-out crowd of 26,500 fans at a chilly Red Bull Arena.

A fast-paced game from the start, the USA got several chances early, with plays originating primarily from the flanks thanks to Crystal Dunn, Mallory Pugh and Rose Lavelle, who had an excellent performance on her first outing with the WNT. She became the 14th player to earn her first cap under Jill Ellis.

The USA’s best chance in the first half came in the 19th minute when a Dunn cross from the right side of the box ended in front of Lavelle. The 21-year-old received the ball with her midsection and sent a full volley directly to the hands of Siobhan Chamberlain, who responded well to the shot and avoided what seemed like a clear goal opportunity for the U.S.

In the 32nd minute, following a foul against the WNT, England got its chance with a free kick from about 45 yards out on the left of the box. The cross was initially headed out by Julie Johnston, but it quickly found the feet of Nikita Parris inside the six-yard box. Parris’ point-blank shot was saved by an incredibly alert Ashlyn Harris who reacted with sharp precision to maintain the 0-0 draw.

In the second half, it was the U.S. who dominated most of the action, pressing forward and getting several opportunities. However, England capitalized on a late chance when a set piece play led to Ellen White’s game-winner in the 89th minute.

Up Next: The USA will head to Washington D.C. to face France and wrap up the SheBelieves Cup at RFK Stadium on March 7 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, France and Germany played to a 0-0 draw, making the last date of games a day with everything up for grabs for all four teams.

2017 SheBelieves Cup Standings

Team

GP

W

L

T

GD

Points

France

2

1

0

1

+1

4

England

2

1

1

0

0

3

USA

2

1

1

0

0

3

Germany

2

0

1

1

-1

1

Goal Scoring Rundown
ENG – Ellen White, 89th minute: A late corner kick by England was cleared by Tobin Heath and then landed on the feet of Lucy Bronze whose half volley hit the crossbar and bounced down in the box. Ellen White shook off both Julie Johnston and Becky Sauerbrunn and smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

Key Saves and Defensive Stops
ENG – Siobhan Chamberlain,19th minute: Rose Lavelle’s volley seemed to be heading straight for the back of the net, however, it was all Chamberlain as her quick reaction and point-blank save prevented the U.S. goal.

USA – Ashlyn Harris, 32nd minute: England’s free kick attempt was headed out by Julie Johnston, but intercepted by Nikita Parris who took the shot from about three yards out. Ashlyn Harris, however, reacted with a stellar point-blank save to keep the USA out of danger.

U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis made seven changes from the starting 11 that took the field against Germany on March 1, with only Sauerbrunn, Mewis, Dunn and Lloyd returning to the lineup.

Ellis also made five substitutes with Allie Long, Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Morgan Brian and Lynn Williams all coming on in the second half.

Last year’s SheBelieves Cup game was a tight one defensively on both sides with the USA firing seven shots to England’s six. The USA had three shots on goal to England’s two. But England had five corner kicks to the USA’s zero. This year’s affair was the opposite as both teams began attacking from the start with both the USA and England finishing with 14 shots each.

Midfielder Rose Lavelle made her debut for the WNT, playing excellent soccer for the full 90 minutes. She became the first player to earn a first cap in 2017 and the 14th player to earn a first cap from Ellis. Lavelle was the first overall pick in the 2017 NWSL College Draft by the Boston Breakers.

The backline of Becky Sauerbrunn, Julie Johnston and Ali Krieger started together for the first as a three-back. Sauerbrunn had been playing in a three-back consistently and in a starting role since Oct. 19, 2016. While Johnston and Krieger have also seen some playing time in that formation, this was their first official start in a three-person backline. Sauerbrunn earned her 121st cap, while Johnston earned her 46th, and Krieger got one closer to the 100 mark as she is earned cap No. 97 this evening. They all played the full 90 minutes.

Samantha Mewis made her eighth career start and earned her 20th cap. For the second consecutive time, she played all 90 minutes in the SheBelieves Cup, playing full time against Germany on March 1 and Saturday against England.

Crystal Dunn is quickly approaching the half century mark in caps and she made her 48th appearance for the WNT.

Captaining the USA for the 34th time in her career was Carli Lloyd, who made her 234th international appearance. Lloyd, the most capped player on the U.S. team, is also the top goal-scorer with 96 career goals. Lloyd is just four away from becoming the sixth player in WNT history to score 100 or more goals.

Lindsey Horan made her first start of the year and second appearance as she came in as a late second-half substitute against Germany on March 1.

Mallory Pugh and Alex Morgan started up top. This was the first start for Pugh since Aug. 12 against Sweden at the 2016 Olympics and her 19th cap. Pugh spent most of last fall with the U-20 WNT as she captained the team at the U-20 FIFA WWC in Papua New Guinea.

On March 4, 2017, midfielder Rose Lavelle made her debut for the U.S. Women’s National Team, going the full 90 minutes against England. Lavelle put in a terrific performance in front of a sold-out Red Bull Arena. The 26,500 fans were easily the largest crowd for which she had ever put her skills on display.

Her play has earned her a few more starts from U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis, where the wonderfully-skilled Lavelle buzzed around the field and produced several GIF-able moments. She scored her first international goal on April 9 against Russia, and added a second (the game-winner) against Sweden on June 8 in Gothenburg.

Lavelle also has a unique and endearing personality off the field, making her one of the most exciting young players to watch in the coming months. Here are five things to know about Rose Lavelle:

No. 1 NWSL College Draft PickAfter a standout four-year career at Wisconsin, Lavelle was selected as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 NWSL College Draft by the Boston Breakers. Lavelle’s selection marked the fourth consecutive year a U.S. WNT player was chosen with the top pick, following in the footsteps of Crystal Dunn (2014), Morgan Brian (2015) and Emily Sonnett (2016).

Nutmeg DuchessWhile the title of Nutmeg Queen belongs to veteran midfielder Tobin Heath, Lavelle has shown in just a handful of games that she belongs in such an exclusive group. We first saw snippets of her nutmeg skills against England, but it was against Russia however, when Lavelle’s video game-level skills were on full display.

First, she had a spectacular dribble down the end line on the right side early in the game where she pushed a ball past a player, ran around her, then nutmegged a second defender inside the penalty box. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it past the third and the final piece didn’t materialize. Minutes later, she had another nutmeg, this time with a back-heel pass. The best part? She seems right at home on the field in what was just her third international appearance.

Making the JumpLavelle has had quite a bit of experience at the U-20 international level. In 2014, she was a starter on the USA's U-20 Women's World Cup Team in Canada, scoring a goal in group play against China PR to help the USA to the quarterfinal. The U.S. team went out in PKs to North Korea, but she was one of the USA's most effective players in the tournament. Lavelle also accomplished a remarkable feat at the 2014 CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship in the Cayman Islands. She did not score a goal or get an assist over the four matches she played in during the tournament as the USA defeated Mexico, 4-0, in the championship game, but her impact on each game on both sides of the ball was so great that she won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

Social Media SavvyWhile many young players often need training, advice and experience to learn the ins and outs of social media, Lavelle has had an exquisite social media presence for quite a while, particularly on Twitter. Her favorite topics are Wisconsin Badgers sports, the Xavier Men’s Basketball Team, dancing, shenanigans at camp, college homework, and of course, dogs.

Lavelle is known to often FaceTime with Wilma just to talk to her. She also will request to pet and immediately bond with any dog she might cross paths with. To document this, the hashtag #RoseWithDogs has officially launched on the @ussoccer_wnt Twitter account. If there any dogs you’d like Rose to meet, please tweet us and include the hashtag #RoseWithDogs.

Since September 2016, the U.S. Women’s National Team has played 10 different opponents -- nine teams from Europe plus Thailand.

The USA’s list of European opponents since last fall includes the Netherlands, two sets of matches each against Switzerland and Romania, tough tests against England, France and Germany at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup and another double-dip against Russia in April. Most recently of course, there were the two big wins against Sweden in Gothenburg on June 8, and against Norway in Sandefjord on June 11.

So, besides belonging to the same Confederation, what do eight of these nine European countries have in common? They make up half of the field for the 2017 UEFA Women’s EURO tournament taking place this July in the Netherlands. Romania nearly made it into the last 16 as well but fell to Portugal in the playoff for the final spot.

WNT vs. Netherlands, this year's EURO hosts.

The UEFA Women’s EURO is the most prestigious competition for women’s international soccer in Europe and, after the Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Games, the biggest and most competitive women’s international tournament in the world.

And facing the best is precisely what U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis committed to do coming out of the recent Olympic cycle.

“I said it last year, we want our schedule to be aggressive,” Ellis told ussoccer.com. “We’re always trying to play top-10 teams and elite teams. It’s a priority and our Federation knows it’s a priority for our team because it’s in those games where we will see growth. The games against European teams are critical.”

With the next Women’s World Cup in France, surely the European nations – especially France and Germany – will be favorites to lift the trophy in Lyon. By then, the USA clearly will have cut its teeth on European competition.

Including the games against Sweden and Norway, the U.S. has now played exactly half of the EURO field in less than a year, a rarity for most countries both in terms of the high level of opposition and the short amount of time in which the games have taken place.

CHICAGO (March 31, 2017) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will autograph and donate authentic jerseys from the SheBelieves Cup tournament for an online auction to benefit Girls Inc., a national organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through direct service and advocacy.

Conceived and developed by the U.S. Women’s National Team players, SheBelieves is a movement to inspire young girls and women and encourage them to accomplish their goals and dreams, athletic or otherwise. The campaign was originally launched in the run-up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup but has since evolved and grown into a special bond between the team and its fans, taking its powerful message of empowerment and that of believing in yourself into communities across the nation.

As one of the most popular women’s teams in the world, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is the prime example that dreams are attainable if you set your mind to it and go after what you want. Through dedication, teamwork, perseverance and success, the players in the U.S. team inspire new generations of young girls and women to be better and strive for better; they inspire them to believe.

Fans can participate in the online auction for the jerseys at http://auction.ussoccer.com. The auction will run until the U.S. WNT game against Russia on Sunday, April 9, at 1 p.m. CT at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas. U.S. Soccer is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Winning bids are a donation to U.S. Soccer, part of which is tax-deductible. Auction proceeds will be granted to Girls Inc. to support its mission. Fans can also support U.S. Soccer directly at any time by making a donation to the U.S. Soccer Development Fund. Click here to learn more or donate.

With the U.S. WNT players as the driving force of the SheBelieves campaign, the movement serves as an inspiration for young girls to feel empowered in any endeavor. The donation of the proceeds from the jerseys to benefit Girls Inc. further extends the movement into the community.

“We are excited to collaborate with the U.S. Women’s National Team to empower more girls to believe in themselves and set high expectations for their futures,” said Judy Vredenburgh, President and CEO of Girls Inc. “It takes all of us, working across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, to provide girls the resources and support to lead healthy lives and become role models in their communities.”

Girls Inc. is dedicated to empowering individual girls from underserved communities and improving the conditions in which all girls live. Through a network of 82 local organizations, Girls Inc. delivers out-of-school time programming that addresses all areas of a girl’s development: her physical health and self-perception, her education and career aspirations, and her life skills and independence. Girls Inc. also advocates for legislation and policies to advance the rights of girls, increase opportunities for all girls, and improve their chances to succeed.

The 2017 SheBelieves Cup took place from March 1-7 across three U.S. venues. The four-team tournament was played in a round-robin format, with France emerging victorious after finishing in last place in the 2016 inaugural edition of the tournament.Read more

Coming out of the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, and in advance of the next set of matches for the U.S. Women’s National Team against Russia in April, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis shares her thoughts on the team’s evolution, giving chances to young players, formations, and keeping focused on the big picture.

ussoccer.com: Looking back at the SheBelieves Cup, what were the big picture points of emphasis in terms of what you and your staff wanted to see on the field?

Jill Ellis: The priority in every game plan was having the confidence to trust our passing game, to play out of tight spaces with numbers, to show patience and try to control the game with the ball. Of course, coaches and fans know that on a certain day ball possession does not always translate to a win, but long term we will give ourselves a higher chance to get a positive result if we can control the ball. In the 2015 Women’s World Cup we found ways to win, but in almost every game except the Final our opponent was often in the driver’s seat for long periods of time. We want to change that, and I believe we have the players and the vision to evolve our style of play. Does change sometimes come at a cost? At times, it does. Losing for us can be an unfamiliar experience, but internally we know we are not close to being a finished product and these growing pains will pay off.

ussoccer.com: The roster for the SheBelieves Cup was one of the youngest you have selected for a competitive event and one of the most inexperienced in terms of caps. Why was it so important to field such a young squad in a big tournament?

JE: In 90% of our matches, we won’t experience the pressure on the field that these three opponents can generate. Going back 10 to 12 years, our matches against the top three teams in the world have been extraordinarily tight. That is exactly the pressure cooker you want a young player to feel, and to experience that two and a half years away from a World Cup is fantastic for us. The European teams get to go through another major event by having the European Championships. By hosting SheBelieves Cup, we give ourselves a big, but important, challenge. For players like Rose Lavelle, Lynn Williams or Sam Mewis to play in front of 25,000 people against Germany or France is vital on so many levels. The playing time gained, the evaluation opportunity, the test of character, we only get these experiences in a format like this event. So yes, I prioritized looking at players that I am not as familiar with in these types of situations, and although they are not young players, Alyssa (Naeher) and Ashlyn (Harris) are also players that needed to get experience against top teams outside of a “friendly” type atmosphere.

ussoccer.com: You have been playing a three-back formation in recent months, and stuck with it against three very attacking-minded teams. Is this something we can continue to see out of the U.S. side?

JE: We’ve played in a 4-4-2 for about eight to ten years, so it was important, on both sides of the ball, to evaluate our flexibility and get answers against top teams in a different shape. When we looked at our personnel, we felt it was important to look at more numbers in midfield and a shape that we can aggressively press out of, but every system has strengths and weaknesses and you only find those out against the best teams in the world. France looked at our build-up shape and matched up to try and nullify what we have been working on. Couple that with the fact that they played as direct as they have ever played against us, and it became an excellent challenge for us. A shape doesn’t win or lose games – if it did everyone would play the same – but it’s about figuring out what gives you the best chance to have your individual players in the best position for them to be successful and help the team. The reality is the first two goals came off a tough turnover in our own end and a long ball in behind, scenarios we have dealt with before and been punished by before. So, in short, am I married to a system? No, but I am committed to finding out more about our players and then building a framework in which we can be successful against every team in the world.

ussoccer.com: After the France game, what were your messages to the players moving forward?

JE: These are extremely competitive and prideful women, so nothing you can say in the moment numbs the sting of losing, but they are also professionals and they know where we are in our cycle and that we are a work in progress. At the end of last year, we let them know that evaluation and deepening the roster is the priority. Right now, it’s not as much about building chemistry between the same two players on the pitch, it’s about getting answers about them and challenging ourselves to get better. Consistency in good performances is what we seek, and that’s tough for even a seasoned player and team to pull off, so I reminded them to keep perspective in the big picture and stay focused on what our end game is: 2019. I think in 80-90% of our matches, the WNT makes it look easy, and that’s a credit to all who have worn the jersey, but in reality it is very hard work to win as consistently as this team has over the years. In the World Cup Final in ‘91, we beat Norway 2-1 and in the ‘99 Final we tied China 0-0 before winning in penalty kicks. Games at the highest level have always been very close, and now with global investment in our game the landscape has changed dramatically. It would be naïve to think results are going to be easy or guaranteed. Winning consistently at the highest level takes investment and commitment. It must be built, and that is the process we are in right now.

ussoccer.com: The next two games coming up are against Russia in April in Texas. What would be the main areas of focus for the team as you head into the next FIFA window?

JE: The Russia games will be a combination of player evaluation and post-assessment from SheBelieves Cup. For sure our focus will again be on ourselves and the areas we want to see continued growth; some areas being our decision making and execution close to goal, outplaying pressure, and individual defending. We learned a lot from seeing what our opponents would try to “take away” from us, so problem-solving within the game and reliance on our core principles to do so will be ongoing. In terms of personnel, once the NWSL league play begins, we will have a chance to evaluate the players in another environment, but until then looking at a player’s performance and positional options in international competition is a critical component of the friendlies.